Vincent's Valentine
by Nameless-Sinner
Summary: Revised A little story involving weddings, turks, children, and Mayhem. Along With a little bit of Vincent Valentine mixed in between. This story will revolve around our favorite gun-slinging ex-turk. And the prospect of parenthood. Not your typical OC.
1. Chapter 1

Tifa Lockhart finished cleaning after another day of running the bar. Setting the cleaning cloth upon the table of which she'd been cleaning, she started her way up the stairs. Halfway up she heard Cloud's voice as if he was talking to someone and slowed her ascent, trying to catch the conversation as she meandered onward, coming to a stop once she reached the top.

Cloud was standing towards the table in the other room, his back to her, letting her eavesdrop without him knowing. He held his sword in his right hand, the point resting on the hardwood floor as he gestured angrily towards the wall as he continued talking into the phone resting in his hand.

"Yes…No…Now? I don't think so. Really? Kiss my ass, Turk. Better yet, go kiss up on Rude. I have better things to do." Tifa could hear apparent yelling as she watched Cloud put the phone back on the receiver.

Cloud set the phone on the receiver with a distinct click, turning he made his way into the other room adjacent to the one he just exited. Spotting Tifa on his way over, he paused.

"Tifa," He changed directions and made his way over to where she resided by the stairs.

"Cloud," She responded, smiling towards the blonde. "So what did Reno want?"

Cloud looked surprised. "How did you know it was Reno?" He asked as he went up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, looking down at her.

"Well," She laughed, letting her head fall back as she looked up at him. "Who else would you tell to go 'kiss up on Rude', as you so blatantly put it?"

Cloud shook his head, trying not to chuckle. "You're right." He stopped long enough to narrow his eyes at her. "How did you get to know me so well?" He finished, giving her a light kiss on her forehead. He unwrapped his arms from around her and started to lead them to the bedroom they sometimes shared.

Tifa noticed where they were headed and gave a small giggle.

"Cloud, we've been friends since we were children. I was bound to pick up on your train of thought sooner or later." They stopped by the bed and he sat on the edge, pulling her on top of him.

"Strange, I have absolutely no idea what goes on in that thick head of yours." Chuckling he tried to evade the slap that was coming his way.

"You're no more than a big meanie!" She shrieked while hitting him on the arm, "I can't believe after all these years…… and you still don't know anything about me!" Tifa got up and quickly made her way towards the stairs and stomped her way down them, mentally laughing as she heard a disgruntled Cloud follow close behind. Maybe she can get him to feel guilty before he found out she really wasn't mad at him.

As Tifa made her way to the bottom of the stairs, she tipped over a stool making sure it fell into the follower's path.

"Tifa, I-Whoa!" Bang! Clatter, clatter. Groan. Cloud looked up and saw Tifa standing there with foot tapping, arms crossed, and a deep scowl on her face.

"Tifa, I didn't really mean it. I...I'm sorry?" Cloud pulled himself onto his knees and looked up at her and gave her the most soulful puppy dog eyes he could muster. He pulled on her skirt making her scoot closer to him and wrapped an arm around her legs before she could scoot away, again. "I am really sorry." Making sure she saw his face.

She looked down at him before she quickly turned away and tried to stifle her laughter. Unfortunately, Cloud heard it, and quickly dropped his look.

"Are...Are you laughing at me?" He stood and caught on to her shoulders before she could back up and hide her face. "What's so funny? Weren't you mad at me just a minute ago?" Poor Cloud looked at her and had the most confused look upon his features. She had to laugh.

"Oh, Cloud." She stopped, trying to get herself under control. "I wasn't really mad at you. I just wanted to see if you really would apologize." She took a step back out of his grasp and made her way to the bar and went behind it to pick up a pair of glasses. "Want a drink?" Shaking a glass at him, she took a couple more bottles and started mixing them together.

Cloud stood watching as she moved around. "You weren't mad? Damn," He shook his head going to sit on the stool beside the bar. "I was played." He took the glass she offered and smelled the contents. "A little strong, don't you think?"

Tifa shook her head, emptying the glass she held loosely in her hand. "Nah, you deserve it. You've been working hard lately. By the way, you never did tell me what Reno wanted." Walking over she leaned on the bar in front of him and looked him in the eye.

He looked at the glass he held in his hands, and then looked towards the brunette. "He was relaying a message from Rufus. Same old shit." He stood up and turned towards the stairs. "It's getting late I'll go check on Marlene and Denzel."

"No need. They're with Barrett. I think they were getting bored being around me, so I let them go with him for a while. Can't say I'm complaining, though, I kind of like being alone, no one to bother me. I can do anything I want." As she was talking she kept giving covert glances towards the blonde, hoping he'd catch her secret meaning.

He stood there staring at her, wondering why she was looking at him all weird, and then it finally dawned. He grinned. "If anything else, I'm sure I can keep you company." He crooked a finger at her and beckoned for her to follow. "There are some things we need to talk about."

She walked towards him and took his hand as he made his way back upstairs. "What kind of things do we need to talk about?" She started thinking about the way he'd been acting lately. Staying around more often, playing around with the children. What was he thinking?

He shook his head and made his way to the room. "I'll tell you in a bit." They walked into the room and once again. He took her hand and tried to find the words he'd been trying to say for a long time. "Tifa, what do think about being a wife?"

Her head shot up and she gasped, not quite believing what she heard. "What?" She got up and stood before him, her eyebrows coming together. "A wife, Cloud, what are you saying?" She was shocked and wanted to ask more but kept silent waiting for him to continue.

"A wife, Tifa. Wha-...Wait, I'm doing this all wrong." He said as he stood up and took Tifa's hands into his own. He took a deep breath, praying for his soul and asked. "Tifa, will you marry me?"

Tifa caught her breath and held it, moving around Cloud to sit down. She stayed there waiting for the dizziness to pass, and realized that she had to breath. Meanwhile, Cloud began to get very nervous. "Ummm, Tifa?" He knelt down beside her perch on the bed and looked up at her. "Tifa, if you don't want to it's okay. I never really thought it would happen, I just had to ask. Forgive me, I never should have asked. Tifa? Ti-" Wham!

"Yes, oh yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Oh, Cloud, yes! Of course, I'll marry you, silly." She laughed, tears falling down her cheeks. "I wouldn't want it any other way." Giving him a kiss, she succeeded to draw him into the bed.

"Cloud, I want you to get a hold of Vincent." The man in question looked over his shoulders towards the brunette that had just crawled out of bed.

"Why?" He asked, wondering why she needed him to call Vincent of all people.

IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV-IIV

"I want him to come to the wedding. Besides, I think Reeve's missing him." Tifa snickered, making her way over to her clothes. She picked up an outfit from the closet and went to the bathroom.

"Whatever, I'll call him." Cloud reached down to put on his boots. When there was no reply, he said, "Don't expect too much, though," But no one was there to listen.

Ring ring…Ring ringity ring… ring ring…ring CLICK

"Yes?"

"Vincent… this is Cloud." Cloud looked over at Tifa and gave her a Why-are-you-making-me-do-this? Look and got a shrug in return.

"Cloud. What do you want?" There was an inaudible sigh from the other end of the phone.

"I'm getting married. Two weeks. In Edge." Pause. "I want you to be there."

Vincent was surprisingly surprised and took the phone from his ear to stare at it. What? Cloud married? It was about as probable as Hojo and Sephiroth buddying up and becoming the model father and son figure. Unbelievable. He put the phone back to his ear.

"When? To who? How the hell did that happen?" He heard laughter, then a squeal coming from the background, then cloud's voice as he answered.

"Two weeks from now, it's on a Tuesday. Tifa. To answer your last question: it was bound to happen anyway."

"Hn. I'll be there. Oh, and tell Yuffie to stop calling my phone or I'm going to accidentally lose it again." He heard Cloud chuckle.

"Will do. Tifa says hi."

"Hello. Sorry to mess up this wonderful conversation, but I have to go." Vincent looked up at Lucrecia's Image in the water. He sighed. If only things could have gone differently. No! That's all in the past.

"Sure, take care."

"You too. Bye."

"Bye." Click.

Vincent put the phone back in his pocket. Damn. He thought. I always knew those two were going to be together. He sighed, and looked towards the crystal that Lucrecia's body resided in. These next two weeks were going to be very long indeed.

Cloud hung up the phone. Turning towards Tifa, he made his way over to her.

"What did he say?" She asked as Cloud made up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her lightly on the shoulder.

"He'll be here." He replied, wondering if Vincent was going to spend the next two weeks at Lucrecia's cave before coming to the wedding.

_Probably_, He thought. _He really needs to find himself a girl_.


	2. Chapter 2

The air around Seventh Heaven had become heavy and tense filling the bar with a heavy silence. Leaving the one's inside to try and keep the others from feeling the tension.

Tifa stood at the bar making drinks as Yuffie and Shera talked about the upcoming wedding, they're own excitement eating away at her, making her smile. Cid, Reno, and the others, along with Barrett, sat across the room talking in low tones making it hard for her to hear. As she went to get the empty glasses from the table, she noticed Reeve and Cloud were not to be found. She shrugged and went back to her duty.

_VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII_

The two men stood outside having a drink to calm Cloud's nerves. Reeve stood silently by his friend watching as Cloud gulped down another shot of whiskey. Silently praying he wouldn't be too intoxicated during the wedding shower the next day. Cloud was well known for his light-weight capabilities.

Cloud leaned against the wall of the bar and sighed looking at his friend.

"Do you think Vincent's going to come?" He asked the man beside him not even looking up.

Reeve took a step closer and patted the younger man on the shoulder. "Of course, the man may not be easy to convince but he never backs down on his word." Reeve chuckled and looked at Cloud.

"Cloud, what are you really worried about?" Guessing it was on the lines of a certain brunette who was inside at this very moment.

Cloud sighed crossing his hands over his chest. "Am I doing the right thing, Reeve?" He asked, still not looking at his partner.

Reeve took his hand off Cloud's shoulder and leaned against the wall beside him.

"You may be thinking this is just a big mistake, but she loves you, Cloud, and she wants nothing but for you to be happy." He said, looking up at the night sky. He didn't know what was into Cloud but this conversation was weirding him out. He was the Leader of WRO not a counselor, though he acted like one every now and then, but it was usually to get his way.

"What about her happiness? I don't think I can be what she wants me to be." He brought his hand to his face and rubbed his temple. "I can't do this." He went to walk past Reeve when the other man stepped in his path.

"Wrong or not, you can't just back out on her now. Think of what it'll do to her. She loves you, and she knew the moment she said yes that she was going to marry you, packages and all. Don't let her down now." He let go of Cloud's arm and waited for an answer.

Cloud stood there in silence and thought about what the other man said. It dawned on him on what a special person Tifa was. He knew she didn't want to change him and loved him for who he was, but could he make her happy? He wanted to but he still had things he needed to work out in himself before he thought about any of this further. He stood up straight and looked at the other man in the eye, for better or worse, he was stuck with his decision.

"Thank you." He said, and continued his way to the bar's entrance.

Reeve stood where he was and watched as the other man stepped into the bar. When the door shut and took the light with it, he leaned back against the wall and took a sip on his forgotten drink. His eyes mirroring the thoughts that were running through him.

"Don't break her heart, you fool." He said, listening to the wind around him.

_VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII_

The breeze was slow and steady, the scent of mako in the canyons drifting past as he made his way to Edge to meet up with Cloud and Reeve. Seems Cloud had let go of most of his past and was finally settle down with Tifa and help her with the children at the orphanage they had built together about two years back. When he wasn't running off to who-knows-where, of course. The Orphanage was packed with the children that had lost their family when the plate had fallen in Midgar. He tried to stay away from there as much as possible, because for some odd reason all the children there always got excited when he visited. It did a lot to scare the wits out of the gun-slinging Ex-Turk. It wasn't because he didn't like the children, quite the contrary.

Vincent shook his head and chuckled, never forgetting to stay on guard. He listened to the sounds of the canyon and continued to walk the path carved between the cliffs. Vincent watched the scenery around him warily, silently wondering about the sudden change in the atmosphere. The air had seemed to grow heavy and tense while he was thinking on what would be awaiting him in the city.

As he made his way through the deep rift that ran through the middle of the canyon, a sound caught his ear. It was faint but it was there nonetheless. Vincent froze, as he began to wonder if he had actually heard anything at all, he heard the sound again and swiveled around in a fluid motion listening for which way the sound was coming from. As he stopped and listened again, it seemed as though it was coming far from the right, but 'what' was it coming from. He had never heard anything like it before, or had he? Vincent stood looking in the direction it was coming from and contemplated on founding out what it was or continuing on his way. Of course, about around this time his paranoia was getting the best of him.

"It could be a trap." He said quietly to himself.

He really wanted to continue on his way to Edge. He got into enough trouble without finding it on his own. As he stood there and fidgeted, his paranoia gave way to common sense. Vincent had just taken a step in front of him when he realized what the sound was coming from.

"A baby's cry? Here, in the canyons?" He meandered towards the sound, his curiosity getting the best of him.

He moved forward, intent on finding the crying infant. If the babe was alone by itself, it wouldn't survive the next twenty minutes. The canyons were notoriously full with all sorts of monsters who wouldn't hesitate on harming the babe. Vincent widened his senses and began searching with more vigor.

As he turned a rock formation, the cries grew louder. He kept following this pattern for the next few minutes, walking faster as the sound became more intense with each passing moment.

Vincent came to a boulder, the width covering most of the path, and knew the child was close. He took a breath and stepped around the rock, his paranoia eating at him once again. Once he made it around, he stopped, stiffening, as he saw what was before him.

It was a woman, lying no more than four feet from him, lying on the ground, the crying infant held protectively in her arms. He made his way to her and knelt down at her side.

The woman was mortally wounded, a nasty gash running through her left side, catching on most of the vital organs. Though she was barely hanging on to life, she managed to open her eyes and look to see what had blocked the sun from her face. When she realized the man in front of her meant no harm, she began to speak.

"I don't…I don't know who you are," She stopped and took a breath, willing herself to continue, "But please take my daughter. I don't want her to die."

Vincent bent forward, hesitating for only a moment before taking the child from her arms and holding the infant close to his chest. He knew that the woman didn't have much longer. He held the child closer to him, as the cries turned into soft whimpers.

"The child," He said. "What is her name?"

The woman's eyes widened slightly, as her expression turned into a smile. He rested a hand under her head giving her as much comfort as he could.

"Her name is…Maria….Maria V-…" The woman stopped and gasped for breathe as her lungs filled with her blood.

Vincent watched her as her life drained away. Vincent cocked his head slightly to the side facing the woman, wondering what the child's last name could be. He then lifted his left hand and gently closed the woman's lifeless eyes. He then stood, cradling the babe in his arms and looked down at her. He half smiled from something that just entered his mind.

"Could it be Valentine?" He asked, laughing at himself from the insanity of it all. As he stood watching the infant, the little girl fell asleep, letting him know he had gained little Maria's trust. He walked away from the infant's dead mother, leaving it for the beasts of the canyons to find, and headed toward Edge, once again. Thankfully, Cloud or Tifa would probably take her in at the orphanage and he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

Sadly, this child would be with him for a very long time.


	3. Chapter 3

He walked up the hill holding the babe under his cape to keep her warm. The baby had slept most of the way, only waking when she got hungry or when she needed a change. The first time this had happened, he was at such a loss to what was wrong with the baby that he had thought that she was dying. At that time, he was in such a panic he had nearly fallen off the side of the cliff when an odor came to his nose, nearly knocking him over the cliff for the second time in less than a minute.

Vincent moved away from the side of the cliff and found an outcrop of foliage. He knelt taking off his cloak as he did so and laid it on the ground, resting the child on top of it. Luckily he had grabbed the bag that the woman had with her and begun to rummage through it, coming across some sort of material and some pins. he set them aside and began to remove the offensive smelling cloth from the child noting how it was wrapped around the babe as he did so and soon had her changed. He threw the dirty material over the side of the cliff, marveling at how such a tiny thing could make a smell so fowl. Wrapping the child back into his cloak out of the sun, he continued onward.

_VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII_

"What," Vincent stood by the counter of the bar, staring at Cloud and Tifa. " Are you trying to tell me that you will not take the babe?"

Vincent turned slightly, shifting the child so he could reach up and rub the bridge of his nose in exasperation. Movement caught his eye and he looked up and noticed that everyone had gone quiet and was staring at him and the others. He sighed and turned back around, intent on ignoring them.

Tifa raised her hands, palms up and gave him an apologizing look. "There are already too many children in the orphanage to begin with. Without Marlene and Denzel's help we are already running low on staff." She looked as if she was trying to will Vincent to see her side of the story. She gestured toward the baby. " With a baby this young, it would be just too much work added on top of everything." Vincent looked over at Cloud who just shrugged.

"Sorry old friend, seems as if she is stuck with you." At this, Cloud placed a hand on the small of Tifa's back and then walked off. Tifa stood with Vincent for a minute before she too, walked off and began to pick up where she left off in the bar.

When he was standing there alone, he looked down at the child in his arms and watched as the babe lifted a hand and waved it around in her sleep. He heard someone bound up behind him and turned slightly to see that Yuffie had come up to stand beside him and was cooing over the babe.

The moment he had walked in the bar holding the baby under his cape, he had had this feeling that it was not going to go the way that he wanted. Vincent sighed again, letting Yuffie coddle over the sleeping infant, as the soft flowery scent from the infant reached his nose. Shera and Yuffie had taken the babe when he revealed her to them and cleansed her of the caked on blood and dirt that had made its way onto her skin.

That was when he had went to Cloud and Tifa with the idea, when they were trying to figure out a way to approach the issue the two women had returned the newly cleaned baby to him wrapped in a clean sheet. He didn't approuch any of the others about the care of the child. Shera might have taken the child if not for Cid's determination not to have anything to do with it. And there was no way he was going to put the child's care into the hands of Yuffie, she was still practically a child herself and did not know the meaning of responsibility. Barrett, as well as those turks, Reno and Rude out of the question. Barrett being that he already had Marlene and the other two...Well, you know why.

Reno came up and patted him on the shoulder. " Look on the bright side, now you won't be holed up in that mansion of yours all by yourself." He chuckled. " Oh wait, you liked it that way." After that remark, Reno was yanked away by the back of his collar by Tifa.

"Ugh, What am I going to do with you," She asked more to herself than anything." You try to start something every time you come in here." She let go of him and he tottered there for a minute trying to catch his balance.

Reno tried to straighten his uniform, " Watch it, yo! I just had this dry cleaned." He glared, " Besides, I was just joking around."

Tifa snorted, waving him off. " Yeah? Well, go do it somewhere else."

Reno grumbled and started his way towards the door. " I gotta go anyway. Come on, Rude." Not even looking back to see if the other had heard. Rude sighed and stood up. He pulled his sunglasses out if his jacket and went to put it on his nose. He paused with them hanging a few inches off his nose looked at Vincent.

"Good luck," He said and then putting on the sunglasses, he preceded to follow his comrade out of the building.

_VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII-VII_

**A/N: Sorry this was so short and there was really nothing in it, either. but after nearly three years of hiatus, I don't even recall where I was going with the story. So more or less, I am trying to build it back up to where it actually has a meaning. It is probably not going to be anything more than following Vincent through the prospects of parenthood...Maybe... It will get more interesting down the road.I promise! Now, where did the plot go... D:**


End file.
